The Avengers #23-24 (1965-1966)

I really wish these issues of Avengers weren’t so dumb on reread, especially since I think this is the first work John Romita, Sr., did for Marvel. His unique style and talent isn’t apparent yet, but then again he’s inking over Don Heck and there’s only so much you can do with that kind of raw material.

Captain America quit the Avengers last issue, and for some bizarre reason he’s taken up boxing. But he can’t forget his teammates. Then Kang comes along and kicks the remaining Avengers’ asses, Cap finds out, and returns to kick Kang’s ass. All in two issues. Imagine if this had been decompressed—you can see a lot of potential for stories here, but as usual Stan Lee was in a rush to get back to the status quo.